According To Plan
by chussiee93
Summary: Bruce Wayne knew this day would come, the day he would have to reveal his identity to the city of Gotham. This is the story of what would have happened had things gone according to plan.
1. Chapter 1: Identity

**This is the story of what would have happened to Bruce, Harvey, Rachel and the Joker had Harvey not stepped forward and saved the Batman from revealing his identity at the Press Conference. I realize this isn't a widely accepted type of fanfic because it admittedly isn't too much fun when people **_**know **_**who the Batman is, but I thought it would be challenging to basically rewrite the end of the movie and see where the characters end up. I hope you can look past the fact that this goes against all that is Batman and holy. I really really need to go to sleep, sooo this chapter is very short but here's a taste! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Bruce was surprised at how calm he felt. He was sure he would be shaking by now, sweating, <em>something.<em> But he supposed his reaction was only to be expected. He had worked so hard for so long at maintaining a perfect poker face that by now it had seeped past the exterior into his very core. His body oozed with confidence. Cool, calm, and collected: that was Mr. Wayne.

But this wasn't a fundraiser. This wasn't another multimillion dollar deal or a nightly encounter with armed criminals. This was much bigger than any of that. He was preparing himself for something that could potentially ruin his business, put Rachel and Alfred into harm's way, allow the Joker room to create even more chaos, and put himself behind bars for a majority of his life. And although he had steeled himself for this moment, he was still surprised to find that he was very much at ease with the decision. It was the right thing to do.

The conference room was bright and filled with people. Emotions were running high. Cameras flashed in Harvey's face and officers stood, shouting in anger and grief. It had been a long time since Bruce had seen anyone in the city this united over an issue, and although the circumstances were more than understandable and extremely grim, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride that finally, _finally _people were starting to take an active role in making Gotham a safer place. Even if it meant the Batman had to turn himself in.

A woman standing close behind him spoke up. "You'd rather protect an outlawed vigilante, than the lives of citizens?"

The room broke out in cries of agreement. A moment of disorder reigned before Harvey's voice rose above the noise. "The Batman is an outlaw! But that's not why we're demanding he turn himself in, we're doing it because we're scared. We've been happy to let the Batman clean up our streets until now-"

"Things are worse than ever!"

Harvey sighed. "Yes, they are. But the night is darkest before the dawn…and I promise you, the dawn is coming. One day the Batman will have to answer to the laws he's broken but to _us. _Not to this madman."

Bruce was impressed. There was something about Harvey that he liked, a fire in his eyes, fervor to make better a city that many had long ago given up on. He was confident that he was leaving Gotham in capable hands. His speech alone seemed to spark trust in his heart, although Bruce might have just been flattered that Harvey held the Batman in such high esteem, he wasn't sure.

Many seemed to disagree with Dent's flattery, however, and shouting drowned out the rest of his sentence. A reporter stood up and raised his voice above the din. "The Batman has done more harm than good! As soon as one criminal is gone, another one comes along, worse than the last. We can't let more people die because one man won't come forward and face the consequences of his actions!"

"Yeah!"

"Turn him in!"

"No more dead cops!"

Harvey stared at the maddening crowd, all of whom were filled with passionate resentment, and decided he could no longer try to dissuade them.

"So be it. Take the Batman into custody."

An expectant hush fell across the crowd, the members eager and yet somewhat reluctant to finally know the identity of the man who had saved so many lives and caused so many deaths. Bruce hesitated for a moment, briefly envisioning a future that could be if he were to not go through with this. The Joker could be caught. The streets could be cleaned. Rachel and he could finally be together. Consciously blinking away these thoughts, Bruce Wayne made his decision and swiftly stepped away from his spot against the wall.

"I am the Batman."

* * *

><p><strong>Please review! Let me know what you think :)<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Yes, I know…that wait was ridiculous. But please, please, please bear with me! I hope you enjoy this chapter :) The next one will be much longer and filled with a lot of actiony type things. I promise.**

Bruce glanced over and caught his reflection in the mirror. Even now, in the demeaning situation he was in, he wore a look of confidence. His suit was well tailored and his hair combed neatly from his face. Inside, though, his mind was whirring. He was completely unsure of whether or not he had made the right decision. Through his actions, he was placing all of his trust and the trust of the citizens of Gotham in the hands of the City Police. It was now solely their responsibility to catch the Joker and clean the streets of Gotham's most terrifying criminals. He was doubtful that with their record they could manage that, but at this point he had no other options. His eyes glazed over and blurred to the point where he could no longer make out his reflection in the mirrored wall. For a moment he wondered how many people were standing behind that glass. Probably dozens, as many as could fit in the small space. It's not every day you get to see The Batman interrogated.

He turned his attention back to the detective sitting across from him, Detective Dolsen, and answered the question he had been asked just a few seconds earlier: _"Why?"_

Bruce knew what Dolsen was referring to. Why did he turn himself in? Why had he given up on an idea that had saved hundreds of people? It was a question he had been asking himself for the past several hours.

"I'm responsible for the lives lost to the Joker. This is all a game to him, and I wasn't going to continue giving the Joker an excuse to kill people."

Dolsen's face suddenly clouded over and he opened his mouth, ready with a frustrated response, but after a subtle glance to the tinted mirror he bit his tongue. He shuffled through the papers sitting in front of him and cleared his throat.

"Mr. Wayne, I understand that you'd be in a financial position to pay your bail, but under the circumstances I feel it is my responsibility to warn you that bail might not be an option at this point."

Bruce nodded once, unsurprised. There was no Judge in Gotham that would allow the Batman to roam the streets free on bail while a mass murderer was playing cat and mouse with him, using average citizens as bait. He knew he would be getting to know the happiness of a jail cell in just a few short hours.

"That being said, we feel as though it would be appropriate to keep you in a private, isolated cell until your hearing. You'll be transported to an undisclosed location under the protection of the GPD, and you will be able to contact your friends and family from there if you'd like.

"Now, Mr. Wayne…it is very important that you tell us who knew of your identity."

This was a question Bruce knew he'd be asked but hadn't quite decided what he was going to say. Alfred had agreed it would be best if his name was mentioned, and he knew Lucius would feel it his moral obligation to confess, but he did not want to get Rachel in trouble. She would most likely lose her job if the Police and Judges of Gotham knew she was somehow involved with the Batman, and most likely she would face some legal consequences for hindering an investigation. But if he did not mention her and later it was found that she did in fact know of his identity both of them could be facing more trouble than they were in now.

He cleared his throat. "Alfred Pennyworth has known since the beginning. He's helped me conduct investigations and keep my identity hidden. Lucius Fox works with me at Wayne Industries and he's been responsible for designing my suit and getting me my equipment."

"Anyone else?"

"No. No one."

Dolsen stared at Bruce and let the silence sit between them for a moment before he nodded his head and slowly stood up. "Ok then. Thank you for your cooperation with all of this, Mr. Wayne. If you have any questions or if there is anything else you feel necessary to tell us, please don't hesitate to ask for me."

"Have you heard anything about the Joker?"

Dolsen sighed. "Nothing yet. We'll let you know what his answer to all of this is. For now let's just sit tight and see what happens."

With that, he turned and walked out of the room, leaving Bruce to sit under the watchful stares of the people hidden behind the glass. He kept his gaze at the table, trying to forget the events from earlier.

After he had admitted to being the Batman, the conference room had immediately quieted. The only sound was the squeaking of chairs as people turned to find the source of the confession. All eyes soon locked onto Bruce and slowly the silence was broken by infectious whispers of surprise- "Wayne?" "_Bruce_ _Wayne?" "_No! It couldn't be!"

He could easily understand their doubt. He had worked hard to keep his persona one that screamed irresponsible, player, a rich bastard. He had always made sure to have an alibi if he was planning something extravagant enough to gain the press's attention. Because of his reputation, he was literally the last person anyone would expect to be Batman, and for that, Bruce had always been grateful.

But slowly he could see their incomprehension turn to understanding. It all made sense after a moment's thought. He had more than enough money to afford all of Batman's handy gadgets. Even with him wearing a very expensive suit it was obvious that Bruce was in excellent shape- fit enough to beat up a whole group of thugs by himself for sure. His position in society gave him enough power to keep mouths closed and eyes turned from the truth. Yes, after one thought about it for a moment, it was almost embarrassing that no one had suspected him earlier.

"_Cop killer!"_

The one man's sudden exclamation opened the flood gates. The crowd put aside their immediate astonishment and went right back to where they were two minutes earlier.

"You fucking bastard!"

"This is all your fault!"

Cameras flashed in his face and reporters began to swarm forward, throwing question after question in Bruce's direction. Through all of the sudden mayhem, he managed to make eye contact with the one man in the room who seemed to be genuinely upset with today's turn of events. Harvey Dent stood by himself up at the podium, gazing in bewilderment in Bruce's direction. His expression was one of defeat and anger. Bruce knew of Dent's reasons for wanting the Batman to keep his identity secret, but he couldn't allow this chaos to continue anymore. Hopefully the Joker would get bored now that his game was over and let down his guard long enough for the police to get to him. But Harvey didn't seem to think that was the case.

He held his gaze for another moment before two officers grabbed Bruce's wrists and clamped silver metal cuffs around them. The man on his right began pushing the reporters aside while the other leaned in and breathed against Bruce's ear. "My partner's _dead_ because of you."

With that, they pushed Bruce none too gently through the crowd and out of the conference room. Adrenaline coursed through Bruce's veins, but he kept calm and allowed himself to be escorted outside, where dozens of reporters were waiting along with several GPD vehicles. A large group of civilians were surrounding the area, waiting anxiously to see who the mysterious Batman was. As soon as they walked into the sunlight, yelling of all sorts could be heard, cameras began to flash, and cops rushed over to protect their small group. Bruce looked around and, through all of the screaming and name calling, was surprised to see that a number of civilians were cheering in _support _of him, rather than against him. After all of the hatred he had been experiencing over the past few days, and throughout his career as Batman really, seeing that small circle of supporters was what spurred him forward and gave him the courage needed to face his consequences.

And now here he was, hours later in a small and unnaturally lit room with the worst headache he had ever experienced without first being either drunk or knocked unconscious. The day was a blur to him, but he supposed there was nothing left for him to do but wait. For some reason, though, he felt as though the situation could only get worse from here on out.

* * *

><p>"<em>Breaking News: Bruce Wayne, Gotham's own billionaire play-boy and the successful owner of Wayne Industries, has just revealed himself to be the outlawed vigilante known as The Batman. He confessed just minutes ago during a Press Conference held by District Attorney Harvey Dent and the Gotham Police Department. We will now turn to Anna Freedman, who is at the scene of the conference. Anna?"<em>

The Joker bounced up on the balls of his feet, holding back the laughter threatening to spill out from between his lips. This was too good. He had never expected the Batman to personally identify himself, to practically cuff his own wrists together and lock his own jail cell. And of all people, it was Gotham's own Mr. Bruce Wayne, the owner of almost every company in the city and ranked one of the world's most powerful and influential billionaires. He couldn't have asked for anything more perfect.

"What do we do now, boss?" The Joker hadn't noticed his men in the room, but he kept his eyes to the television after the question was asked. What to do, what to do…He hadn't really had too much of a plan to begin with. Honestly, he had never expected the Batman's identity to be revealed, and had been willing to just go along with the idea of taunting him through the use of chaos and destruction in Gotham. Now he'd need a different player in the game, a new chess piece to fool around with.

"You," he pointed to a man on his left, "keep an eye out at the station. We're gonna give Batboy a surprise visit as soon as he leaves."

Bruce Wayne…yep, that made sense. He should have figured it out before this. He had the power needed to manipulate anyone and everyone who might suspect something and the money to pay for all of his shenanigans. And of course there was Miss Dawes. That lovely lady had always been rather close to Brucey and it didn't take a genius to see that the Batman had a thing goin' for her. And so did Dent for that matter. The Joker let out a laugh, _'She gets around.'_ If only Wayne wasn't in police custody, he could have some fun with the three of them. Gotham's White and Dark Knight and their fickle sweetheart, together one last time for a little reunion…

"Change of plans, gentlemen. We're gonna have ourselves a little get together."

**So, if you're not too busy, I think you should go down and press that little blue button that takes you to the review page. Jussayin'….no pressure or anything, buuuuut it makes me really happy. So you should do it. Please. Ok. Goodbye.**


End file.
